Two Hour Meeting Block: Predictions

[_Aristotle Smith]

Some predictions about how the two hour meeting block is going to affect the LDS church, first broken down by geographical area:

Utah/Idaho/Northern Arizona: This is going to be a huge economic win for the LDS church. They can now fit 25% more wards in a single building. People live close to meeting houses so it's no hardship to make them drive 2 minutes longer to slightly fewer buildings. In terms of social ramifications I think it's mostly a wash. Your neighbors are mostly your ward, you already know them and seeing them 1 hour less a week probably won't affect your life all that much.

US (outside Utah/Idaho/Northern Arizona) and Canada: This is going to be a wash economically. In strong areas the LDS church may be able to build less buildings. However, in many areas this is simply not feasible as there simply isn't enough Mormon density to share distant meeting houses. Socially, I think this is a slight net negative. I don't think the LDS leadership realizes how easy it is these days to simply stop being LDS and how little it affects people outside the Morridor. You see fellow Mormons fairly infrequently and this means you see them even less now.

Europe and Japan: I don't see any positive economic impact. People already live far from buildings and the buildings can't be shared any more than they already are. Socially I think this will have a big impact. In these areas transport to church can be lengthy and expensive. Travelling one hour each way to church is a big deal, but with a 3 hour block you spent more time in church than you did travelling. Now you might spend as much or more time travelling as you do in church. Plus, in these areas church is often the only time you seen fellow Mormons. You will now see them even less.

High growth 3rd world countries such as South America and Sub-Saharan Africa: For Mormons living in dense cities, this probably is going to be the same as for people living in the US/Canada (outside Utah). For Mormons living in more rural areas, this will probably be more like Europe/Japan. On average, probably something between those two geographical areas.

More generic prediction:

Strengthen the Family: Pretty much every church decision these days is justified by the platitude that it is to "Strengthen Families". Very doubtful this will happen. Mormons are not going to rush out and lengthen their FHE by one hour because the church just gave them back that hour. The real problem with Mormon families is that I don't think the upcoming generation has any idea what the original LDS theology behind families was. If you have a strong King-Follet style theology of families, then the family takes on a cosmic significance and people may take it more seriously. But that has all but disappeared from LDS discourse these days. If the LDS church leaders want to strengthen Mormon families, then they need to either 1) teach the old theology or 2) come up with a new theology of Mormon families.

Anyway, interested to see where you think I'm right and where you think this is pure BS.

[_Dr Exiled]

This is like the corporate P.R. specialist slapping a "new and improved" label on product X in order to generate interest in product X again. This and the other cosmetic changes may give the church corp a bump for a bit, but it still harkens back to the magic stone. The historical foundation still points toward con, delusion, or a mixture of both.

[_Gadianton]

Utah/Idaho/Northern Arizona: This is going to be a huge economic win for the LDS church. They can now fit 25% more wards in a single building.

I didn't understand the point of the 2 hour block until now.

[_Dr Exiled]

It's too bad we can't see the finances because Aristotle Smith makes a great point about cost savings being a benefit to the time change. I'm curious as to how much savings it will generate overall and how much the changes will affect those outside of church population centers. When I was younger, my family lived 1 1/2 hrs from the ward and our attendance was spotty at times. I wonder if the possibility of having the outliers leave all together due to it not being worth the travel sacrifice was discussed? This probably is already occurring, though, with the current schedule, so perhaps it won't make much of a difference and all savings is lauded by corporate leaders.

[_Mormonicious]

Once you start relying upon the "Family" to teach the doctrine of the Mormon corporation, even with "study" guides, the dogma of the leadership becomes EXTREMELY corruptible.

Think of the kids game you played where the first person whispered a secret and it went from person to person until the last person stated what they heard. Never the same. Now think of the Mormon dogma taught from "family" to "family" until it is something all together different than the "study" guide.

By reducing the Correlation factor, the Mormon corporation is setting itself up for fracturing and splintering of the organization. They think John Dehlin and Denver Snuffer are a problem, wait until enterprising "self identified" leaders start study groups for them and their neighbors. Can you say NEW Mormon corporation organization.

[_slskipper]

The Mormon church will turn into a Stasi organization, with the members informing on their own family members. And that is precisely what the assholes at the top want.

[_Kishkumen]

This is like the corporate P.R. specialist slapping a "new and improved" label on product X in order to generate interest in product X again. This and the other cosmetic changes may give the church corp a bump for a bit, but it still harkens back to the magic stone. The historical foundation still points toward con, delusion, or a mixture of both.

When your advertising seeks to entice customers by trumpeting 33% less product, you’ve told us all we need to know about why we shouldn’t buy it.

[_Tuna_Surprise]

In addition to potential cost savings by combining wards, there is a second cost savings of needing less people to run a ward because sunday school, priesthood, relief society will be held half as often. Even in wards in the Utah region, this will take the pressure off the most devoted families who do the most.

[_Meadowchik]

In addition to potential cost savings by combining wards, there is a second cost savings of needing less people to run a ward because sunday school, priesthood, relief society will be held half as often. Even in wards in the Utah region, this will take the pressure off the most devoted families who do the most.

True. My son's bishop substituted for the seminary teacher last week. He then listed three or four other callings that he's filling while they remain empty. It's a European ward that has a deceptively high Sunday attendance rate, many of the numbers attributable to uni students and tourists.

Our other European wards have been relatively tiny, too, and certainly without the activities we'd expect in a Utah or even any US ward. And gas is more expensive here. I wonder if wards like these would be allowed to replace the departed third hour with seminary, for example, if they do weekly (and not Monday through Friday) seminary. My son takes the bus, so it costs us almost 7 pounds for two of us to travel to church and back.

[_Equality]

More generic prediction:

Strengthen the Family: Pretty much every church decision these days is justified by the platitude that it is to "Strengthen Families".

If the move to a 2-hour block is going to strengthen families, has anyone asked the Mormon prophets why they have been weakening families for all these years with the 3-hour block?